The Rock'n'Roll Romance Box Set (Pam Howes Rock'n'Roll Romance Series) (93 page)

  
She looked at their hands entwined on her lap and at Roy’s
contrite expression. His eyes held hers for a few seconds before his arms crept
around her and his lips sought hers.

  
She clung to him, returning his insistent kisses. His hands slid under
her sweater. The phone rang out, making them jump apart.

  
‘I’ll leave it,’ he whispered, moving back towards her.

  
‘What if it’s important? Maybe it’s Ed changing the time of your
rehearsal, or something.’

  
‘Nothing is more important to me at this moment than kissing you, not
The Raiders
, not anything.’ The phone
stopped ringing as Roy pulled her
onto his knee. She unbuttoned his shirt, snuggling into him.

  
‘I love the scent of your body,’ she said.

  
‘And I love the scent of yours,’ he replied, yanking off her sweater. He
unclasped her bra and she kicked off her shoes. As they slid down onto the rug
he said, ‘Take off your skirt. This rug sheds like crazy and you’ll be covered
in pink fluff.’

  
She slipped out of the skirt and threw it onto the chair with her
jacket, pushing the thought, that she was mad to be doing this with him, from
her mind. The look in his eyes as he gazed longingly at her was enough.

  
‘Sam, you know nothing gets me more excited than the sight of you in
black stockings and French knickers. Did you put them on specially?’

  
‘No. How on earth could I have, when I didn’t know I was going to be
seeing you? And I certainly didn’t have
this
in mind when I called you earlier.’
  

  
‘But you want to?’ His eyes held such a pleading expression that she
knew she was powerless to refuse.

  
‘Yes,’ she said and helped him take off his clothes. She reached up and
kissed him. Nothing else mattered to her at this moment other than pleasing
him. The phone rang again as he slid into her. They ignored it and rolled
together on the rug, frantically swapping positions, lost in their lovemaking.

  
‘This is how much I love you and need you, woman,’ he gasped as he
tipped her onto her back and his thrusting became urgent. ‘Christ!’ he said,
clutching her tightly as she cried out with her own orgasm.

  
He collapsed on top, bodies sticking together.

  
‘Sam, we’ve still got it, girl,’ he whispered, stroking her hair.

  
She lay quietly, waiting for her breath to return, hardly able to
believe what she’d done.
How
had she
made love like that after spending the night in Stuart’s bed? She could feel
her cheeks warming and hoped Roy
would think it was the result of their passion.
 

  
He cradled her to him, dropping kisses all over her. ‘I love you, Sammy;
I love you so much it hurts. I can’t believe that just happened. I thought I’d
never get to make love to you again. I really thought you didn’t want me
anymore.’

  
She swallowed hard. ‘I love you too, Roy,
more than you know. So, what now?’

  
‘God only knows. What do
you
want?’

  
‘Everything to be as it was before you met Livvy, but that’s
impossible.’

  
The phone rang again and Roy
reached over to answer it.

  
‘Hello. Oh, hi, Ed. No, I’ve been here all morning. I heard the phone
ring, yeah, but Sammy’s here so I ignored it.’ He was quiet for a moment and
then, ‘Okay, thanks for that. See you soon, bye.’

  
Sammy smiled as he hung up. ‘What did he want?’

  
‘Livvy called him. She wondered where I was when I didn’t pick up. It
was
her
ringing the first couple of
times.’

  
‘Thank God you didn’t. That would have really put me off.’

  
‘I suppose I’d better give her a call, see what she wants. Do you fancy
a shower? I’m sweaty and we’re covered in pink fluff.’

  
‘Yeah, in a minute. I’ll brew up while you make your call. Can I borrow
a T-shirt?’

  
‘I’ll get you one from the bedroom,’ he said. ‘Any particular colour?’

  
‘You choose, so long as it covers my bottom.’

  
He handed her a white T-shirt and she pulled it over her head while he
watched her, head on one side. ‘What?’ she said.

  
‘Nothing, just checking it covers your arse!’

  
‘And does it?’ She grinned and twirled in front of him.

  
‘Just about. Anyway, no one can see us up here. We’re well set back from
the road.’

  
‘I’d rather not take any chances. Make your call and I’ll put the kettle
on.’

***

Sammy smiled as she spooned coffee
granules into two china mugs decorated with pink and blue butterflies. ‘She’s
no bloody taste,’ she muttered. The kettle boiled and she popped her head
around the door to see if Roy had
finished his call.

  
He was seated on the floor, leaning against the sofa and she could see
the scratches on his back from her fingernails. He was still talking and her
heart leapt as she gazed at his body, long legs stretched out on the rug.
 

  
He hung up and turned his head. ‘She’s out to lunch. That was Sean
wishing the band luck for the rehearsal. How about that shower, Babe? We can
have our coffees later.’ He stood up, held out his arms and she moved into
them.

***

Livvy parked her Mini on the staff
car park. Turning off the engine she rested her head on the steering wheel. She
was late back from lunch and Sean would be mad. They were short staffed as it
was with Jon away. She’d called Roy
twice this lunchtime and when he didn’t answer she’d called Ed, who didn’t know
where he was either. She’d driven to the flat to see if he was okay, convinced
he’d fallen in the shower and knocked himself out.

  
As she swung onto the semi circular drive of the big old house she saw
Sammy’s Porsche parked next to his car and her stomach heaved. She sped off the
drive, pulled up around the corner, leapt from the car and was sick in the
gutter. What was going on now? She had a key but couldn’t face walking in on
them, even if they were only talking, which she very much doubted, otherwise he
would have answered the phone. Heart pounding, she drove back to work.

  
As she stomped up the stairs Sean looked at her and frowned. ‘Now what’s
up and why are you late back? Roy
called you a few minutes ago. He’s probably left the flat by now, but he said
he’ll see you tonight.’

  
‘Oh, did he?’ Livvy stormed into the staffroom, took off her jacket and
washed her face. She flounced back behind the counter and sat down on the stool.
‘He’s an absolute bastard!’

  
‘Why?’

  
She told him what had happened.
  

  
He patted her shoulder sympathetically. ‘I’m sorry, Liv. There’s only
going to be one winner in this mess. If it had
been anyone other than him I would have said there may be good reason why he
wasn’t answering his phone.’

  
‘But because it’s
him
you can
only think of the obvious. He was screwing Sammy!’

  
‘Yeah.’

  
‘Maybe she went to see him over something to do with the house, or
Jason, or the business?’ She knew she was grasping straws.

  
‘Well there’s always that, but it doesn’t explain why he didn’t answer.
I’m not trying to hurt you. I’m trying to help you face the facts.’

  
She nodded and grabbed the phone.

  
‘He’ll have left the flat by now,’ Sean said, looking at his watch.

  
‘I’m trying to catch Ed before
he
leaves,’
she replied. ‘He can pass on a message for me.
Hi, Ed, it’s Livvy again. - Yes, I know he was at the flat, thanks. I don’t
want to speak to him now, but would you tell him I won’t be round tonight, or
any other night for that matter and I hope he enjoyed his lunchtime with Sammy.
If he denies she was with him you can tell him I saw her car on the drive.
Thanks.’ She slammed the receiver down and sat back with her arms folded.
‘That’s the last time the Cantellos make a fool of me.’

***

CHAPTER
THIRTY TWO

‘I’m back,’ Sammy announced as she
dodged past her mother’s office and into hers and Jane’s.

  
Jane looked up as Sammy closed the door. ‘Why are you wearing your
shades in November and what’s happened to your hair?’

  
Sammy removed the glasses, grinned and took a mirror and small vanity
case from the filing cabinet.

  
Jane tapped her chin with a pen and watched as Sammy applied makeup and
fastened her hair back with a large slide.

  
‘That’s better. I took a quick shower with Roy,
my makeup washed away and my hair was wet. He doesn’t have a nozzle on his
dryer, so I couldn’t blow the ends under properly.’ She realised she was
babbling and fell silent as Jane stared at her, eyebrows raised in amusement.

  
‘A shower with Roy, eh? So,
what’s going on now?’

  
‘Oh God,
I
don’t know. I really don’t know, Jane.’

  
‘Well, I hope this is the start of you two getting your acts together.
What will you say to Stuart? You can’t mess
around with his feelings.’

  
‘I don’t intend to. Stuart knows how I feel about Roy
and I hope he’ll see last night as nothing more than a drunken mistake. I love Roy,
he
loves me. We’ve just had the most
amazing time. Took us both by surprise; I honestly had no intentions of that
happening. It just did and it was incredible.’

  
‘Did you tell Roy you slept
with Stuart?’

  
‘God no! He’ll go crazy when he finds out.’

  
‘He’s bound to find out sooner or later.’
  

  
‘Not unless someone tells him and there’s only you, Pat and Tim know.’

  
‘And Ed.’

  
‘How on earth did Ed find out?’

  
‘Tim told him and Ed rang to ask if it was true.’

  
‘They’re as bad as a bunch of old women for gossiping,’ Sammy tutted.
‘Well, I hope they don’t say anything to Roy.’

  
‘They wouldn’t do that.’

  
‘I feel fit for nothing now and I’ve got loads to do this afternoon. Has
Ruby been in with the children’s samples in the cord and check?’

  
‘No, but I’ll go and chase her up while you catch your breath.’

  
‘Thanks, Jane. I need to get them into the shops next week, see how they
go before I order more fabric.’ Sammy slumped in her chair and yawned loudly.
‘Oh, sorry, I just want to sit here for a while and calm down, my heart’s
racing. Dear God, I can’t believe what I’ve done.
 
It’s almost like sleeping with Stuart made me
feel guilty and I had to make things right with Roy,
without him knowing why. Isn’t that mad when you consider what he’s done to me?
I can’t make any sense of it at all.’

  
Jane smiled. ‘Well at least it’s made you realise you can’t let him go
that easily.’

  
Sammy nodded. ‘But it doesn’t make Livvy and the baby disappear. The
flat’s full of blonde bimbo stuff. Naff cushions, a pink rug that sheds fluff
everywhere. What on earth was Roy
thinking, letting her choose things like that?’

  
‘Well you said yourself he wouldn’t have a clue.’

  
‘Has Pat called while I’ve been out?’

  
‘Yes, she’s dropped Tim at our place and then she’s taking the girls for
their school uniforms. They start next Monday. God help Manor Banks with two
more Raiders’ kids to educate. By the way, Phil Jackson’s got two exes and six
kids!’
   

  
‘I’m not in the least bit surprised,’ Sammy said.

  
‘He’s free again now and he’s had a vasectomy,’ Jane said. ‘So he’s
raring to go.’

  
‘Well,
he’ll
certainly enjoy
himself on the road!’

***

Eddie was standing by his Jeep,
finishing a cigarette as Roy pulled
onto the car park of the factory conversion where the rehearsal studio was
situated. He leapt out, grinning like the proverbial Cheshire cat, and slid
down the wing of his BMW.
  

  
‘Hi, Roy,’ Eddie greeted
him. ‘Do you recognise this place?’
 

  
‘Should I?’ Roy frowned,
looking up at the three-story building that also housed craft studios and
artists’ workshops.
 
‘Oh yeah! It’s the
old paint factory where you used to work.’

  
‘It certainly is. I’ve come a long way since
those
days.’

  
‘Bloody hell, mate, you’re not wrong there.’
  

  
‘My gear’s inside. Give us a guitar to carry.’

  
‘Thanks, Ed. I’ve brought three. You take the Strat.’

  
‘There’s the old lift up to the third floor where we’re rehearsing,’
Eddie told him, leading the way.

  
‘Thank Christ for that! I’m knackered before we begin,’ Roy
said as Eddie pressed the lift button.

  
‘Everyone’s here. I warned them you might be a bit late. So, have you
been discussing stuff with Sam?’
 

  
‘Amongst other things,’ Roy
replied airily as the lift door opened.

  
In the lift Eddie glanced sideways at Roy’s
beaming face. ‘What other things?’ he asked, pressing for the third floor. ‘You
mean….?’
  

  
Roy nodded. ‘The most mind
blowing shag I’ve had in ages!’

  
‘But I thought…’
Eddie
trailed off.

  
‘Thought what?’

  
‘Nothing, I presumed you were talking, that’s all.’

  
‘So did we. She called me, I invited her over, made lunch, we got
talking about old times and that was it, I
couldn’t keep my hands off her.’

  
‘What about Livvy?’

  
‘Oh
she
wasn’t there,’ Roy
quipped. ‘It was just the two of us.’

  
‘Stop pissing about!’

  
‘Sorry, Ed, I couldn’t resist. I don’t honestly know. All I
do
know is that I love Sam,
she
loves me and I think I’ve got a
final chance with her. There has to be a way of resolving this mess,
because I want Sammy back more than I’ve ever wanted anything in my life right
now.’

  
‘Sounds fair enough to me, but we’ll talk some more later,’ Eddie
replied as the lift creaked to a standstill. They alighted and made their way
down a long, carpeted corridor to the rehearsal studio, where the rest of the
band was tuning up.

  
The studio, run by two local ex-musicians, was well equipped. In the
corner, Carl was entertaining them all, doing Jerry Lee impersonations on a
brand new piano.

  
‘This is a brilliant place, Ed,’ Roy
exclaimed, looking round. ‘Plenty of space to move around and the ceiling height’s
just right. We should get a great sound. We could have used their PA system,
too, save lugging ours around.’
 

  
‘Frank’s booked it for three afternoons a week until Christmas,’ Eddie
said. ‘We can re-book in January if we feel the need. We can always run through
stuff at my place. Right, let’s get sorted and cracking.’ He picked up his
drumsticks and looked at Roy who was removing his Fender from its case and
chatting animatedly to Phil. It was obvious to Eddie that Sammy had not
mentioned her night of lust. Roy
was too happy for one thing. Ah well, she must know what she’s about, he
thought.

  
‘Ready, lads?’ Roy called.
‘Let’s warm up with
Summertime Blues.
Two, three, four!’

  
They launched into the old Eddie Cochran favourite closely followed by
Chuck Berry’s
Sweet Little Sixteen,
with Roy
in his element, duck-walking up and down the room.

  
Dave and Geoff, the studio’s proprietors, were laughing at his antics
and cheered loudly as the song finished.
   

  
By the end of the first set, sweat was dripping from them all. Eddie
stripped off his top and rubbed himself down with a towel. He delved into his
bag for a clean T-shirt and a bottle of Lucozade. ‘Shit! That was brilliant,’
he said, slugging back his drink. ‘But I’m really out of condition. My back and
shoulders are killing me.’

  
‘We’re all out of condition,’ Roy
laughed. ‘We need to join a gym or we’ll never cope with the pace of playing
night after night for weeks on end. But I really enjoyed that. We’ll slow the
pace a bit and do a few ballads when we catch our breath. Have you got a spare
drink, Ed? I completely forgot to bring anything with me. I was in such a rush
to get here.’

  
‘In the bag,’ Eddie replied. ‘Help yourself.’

  
They started the second set with
My
Special Girl
, Roy and Eddie’s voices filling the room with their harmonies.

  
‘Sounds as good as it ever did,’ Phil said. ‘That’ll get ’em all weeping
and chucking their knickers on stage!’
        

  
‘Well it never fails to move Jane, Sammy and Pat,’ Eddie said.

  
‘Not Sammy anymore, surely?’ Phil looked at Roy.

  
‘I think I can safely say it will still have an effect on Sammy,’ Roy
replied.

  
Tim caught Roy’s eye. ‘What
have you and Sammy been up to, or need I ask?’

  
Roy shrugged. ‘What do you
mean?’

  
‘You know full well what I mean. You and Sam, what’s going on?’

  
‘We love one another.’

  
‘Well in that case sort yourselves out and get back together. Loads of
guys have affairs, they even father kids, but they don’t break up their
marriages.’

  
‘That was Sammy’s choice, not mine. I never wanted us to split up in the
first place.’
 

  
‘Well you’ve obviously made a move to patch things up today,’ Phil
chipped in. ‘Don’t let Sammy slip through your fingers again. You’re making the
same mistake I made with Laura. I let her go instead of fighting for her. My
second marriage failed because I’m still in love with Laura.’

  
‘Really, are you?’ Eddie looked at Phil who was usually so flippant in
his comments about marriage and women.

  
Phil nodded sadly. ‘It kills me when I go and visit the kids and she’s
there with her new bloke. I could throttle the bloody life out of him. The
grass might appear greener, but believe me, Roy, it’s not.’

  
‘I’ll second that,’ Eddie said. ‘Right, before we continue, are we all
agreed that Roy should be back with
Sammy, where he belongs?’

  
‘Yes!’ The group was one voice.

  
‘Okay, okay, if she’ll have me,’ Roy
said.

  
At the end of the rehearsal and as they loaded their cars, Eddie took Roy
on one side. ‘Come back and eat with us tonight.’

  
‘What about Livvy? She’s coming over later. I need to talk with her, Ed.
Though Christ alone knows what I should say. I promised her the earth the other
day, a new home, more kids when she wants them. I’m a bastard, I really am.’

‘She’s not coming to the flat.
When she couldn’t get an answer to her calls she was worried. She drove to your
place and saw Sammy’s car on the drive.’

  
‘Shit! So she called
you
again
and told you that, did she?

   
Eddie nodded. ‘She put two and two together. She said to tell you she
won’t be round tonight, or any other night for that matter!’

  
Roy sighed heavily. ‘Right,
well I suppose I might as well follow you home then. Do you think I should call
her or leave it for now?’

  
‘Leave it for now; you’ve screwed her up enough. I don’t know how much
more she can take.’

  
‘Maybe you’re right,’ Roy
nodded.

***

Livvy dug out her address book.
She looked up a number and dialled it before she had a change of heart. The
call was answered by a woman whose voice she didn’t recognise, but she guessed
it was Tim Davis’s wife, by the slight American accent. The woman told her
Sammy was working late. Livvy scribbled down the number she was given. This
time Jane answered the call. Spurred on by the friendly tone in Jane’s voice,
she asked to speak to Sammy.

  
‘
Hold on, I’ll pass you over.
’

  
‘
Olivia
.’ Sammy’s tone sounded
shocked but cool.

  
‘I’d like you to pass on a message to Roy,
please,’ she began.

  
‘
Why can’t you speak to him
yourself
?’

  
‘Because no doubt you will see him before I do.’
   

  
‘
Oh - will I?’

  
‘Well you saw him at lunchtime. Your car was on the drive. You just
won’t let him go, will you? You say you don’t want him, yet you’re determined
to keep him from
me
. We love one
another;
I’m
having his baby. He wants
it no matter what he tells you. We’ve even chosen names.
I can’t cope with this anymore. Tell Roy
I’m going back to Glasgow. I’ll let
him know when the baby arrives. You can have him back, Sammy.

  
‘
You’re
the one wanting your
cake and eating it, not Roy. I know
you’ve also got Stuart in tow. He called in the shop this evening. I overheard
him telling Sean that everything’s great with the two of you and that you spent
the night together. You and Roy are tarred with the same brush, messing
about with people’s feelings.’ Livvy felt close to hysteria then Jane’s voice
came soothingly down the line.